© Eduardo Munoz Alvarez; Robin van Lonkhuijsen/Pool/AFP via Getty ImagesPresident Donald Trump and Special Counsel Jack Smith (inset)
Jack Smith last June indicted Trump on 37 federal counts in Miami.
Trump was charged with 31 counts of willful retention of national defense information and 6 other process crimes stemming from his conversations with his lawyer.
Jack Smith has been fighting to keep the names of government witnesses a secret. He also opposed the unsealing of discovery material because one document confirms the existence of another FBI investigation.
Judge Aileen Cannon quashed Special Counsel Jack Smith’s attempt to keep names of government witnesses and other discovery under seal in the classified documents case against Trump.
The documents produced by the special counsel's office were heavily redacted.
A press coalition included The Associated Press, The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN, Fox News, and other outlets have also requested the unsealing of the discovery material.
Jack Smith opposed Trump's motion to disclose discovery material in a 4-page filing reviewed by The Gateway Pundit.
The special counsel argued the discovery material must be kept under seal because one document confirms the existence of another FBI investigation...presumably into Trump.
It is unclear which FBI investigation Jack Smith referenced, however it has been publicly reported that the FBI opened an investigation into Trump's 'possible involvement in January 6' in April 2022.
Jack Smith requested certain documents to remain sealed in full.
© U.S. Department of Justice/Handout via REUTERSA redacted FBI photograph of documents and classified cover sheets from a container stored in former President Donald Trump's Florida estate during an FBI raid
"Following an independent review of the Motion and the full record, the Court determines, with limited exceptions as detailed below, that the Special Counsel has not set forth a sufficient factual or legal basis warranting deviation from the strong presumption in favor of public access to the records at issue," Cannon wrote in the order, according to Law & Crime.
Cannon blasted Jack Smith and denied his request to keep names of government witnesses secret.
"Although substantiated witness safety and intimidation concerns can form a valid basis for overriding the strong presumption in favor of public access, the Special Counsel's sparse and undifferentiated Response fails to provide the Court with the necessary factual basis to justify sealing," Cannon wrote.
The classified documents trial is currently set for May 20, 2024, however it may get postponed since Jack Smith's January 6 DC trial, which was set for March 4, 2024 is delayed.
As much as I don't trust Donald, the differences in legal accountability between him and Biden make me sick. I'm sure it sickens many, many Americans.